1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to subscription services. More particularly, the invention relates to a method and apparatus for providing open-ended availability to commodity items, such as magazines, normally available to consumers only through renewable term-based subscriptions.
2. Description of the Related Art
Most periodicals, such as newspapers and magazines, are available to consumers through subscriptions. Such subscriptions allow consumers to receive delivery of the periodicals at home. Subscriptions available for newspapers, however, differ from subscriptions available for magazines in at least one respect. Newspaper subscriptions are typically available on a continuous, or open-ended basis, where the subscriptions do not expire simply because a period of time, or term, has elapsed. Rather, newspaper subscriptions terminate only after subscribers contact the newspaper publisher and cancel the subscriptions. In the context of subscriptions, the term “open-ended” refers to subscriptions of indefinite duration, subject only to the subscriptions being canceled.
By contrast, magazine subscriptions involve consumers contracting with magazine publishers to pay for and receive magazines for fixed periods of time, or terms (i.e., 1 year). These magazine subscriptions expire only after their respective-terms have elapsed. Until then, subscribers are committed to receive the magazines for the entire length of the subscription term. Some costumers may never subscribe to magazines simply because they are unwilling to commit themselves to buying magazines that they may not want to receive in the future.
If magazine subscribers want to continue to receive magazines without disruption, they must renew their subscriptions before they expire. The process of renewing subscriptions traditionally involves two basic stages. First, magazine publishers phone or mail renewal notices to subscribers as subscriptions approach the end of their terms. Mailed renewal notices often comprise letters requesting subscribers to contract to purchase magazines for another term. Subscribers who desire to renew must provide renewal instructions by, for example, filling out the renewal notice form and mailing it back to the magazine publisher. Subscribers may choose to pay the renewal cost at the time of renewal. If not, magazine publishers send invoices to the subscribers returning renewal instructions. The subscribers receiving the invoices must write out checks for the invoice and send them back to the publishers to complete the renewal process. Alternatively, credit card accounts may be used to pay for renewals.
Such a renewal process, however, inherently discourages subscribers from renewing their subscriptions. Under this process, all subscribers desiring continued receipt of a magazine title receive renewal notices and provide renewal instructions near the end of every subscription term (e.g., every year).
This not only presents needless inconvenience to those subscribers, but also forces subscribers to periodically reconsider and reevaluate whether the value imparted by the subscriptions justify their expense.
In addition, publishers usually mail out multiple renewal notices, sometimes up to fifteen, to their subscribers. In some cases, supplemental renewal notices from publishers may cross in the mail with renewal instructions from subscribers. Subscribers receiving these supplemental renewal notices may be uncertain as to whether the publishers received their renewal instructions or whether the subscribers even submitted the instructions. As a result, some subscribers may inadvertently return two (or more) sets of renewal instructions. Also, inadvertent failure to return renewal instructions in a timely fashion may result in sudden, and in some cases unnoticed, disruptions in subscription services. Thus, the traditional renewal process is fraught with problems.
Attempts have been made to address the shortcomings of the traditional renewal process. One attempt involved requiring subscribers to agree so automatic renewal of their subscriptions, unless they notified the publishers otherwise. Under this automatic renewal process, publishers sent invoices near the end of subscription terms without ever sending renewal notices. Subscribers desiring to terminate their subscriptions returned their invoices with the word “canceled” written on them without enclosing payment. Publishers receiving such invoices processed those subscriptions as canceled. Those subscribers who desired to continue subscription services returned the invoice along with payment for the subscriptions. One magazine publisher, the American Express Publishing Company (AEPC) implemented an automatic subscription renewal system. AEPC required that, in subscribing to its magazines, subscribers must not only agree to automatic 1-year subscription renewals, but also agree to charge payment for the renewals on the subscribers' American Express card.
Such automatic renewal systems suffered their own drawbacks. Publishers adopting automatic subscription renewal systems usually imposed automatic renewal as a nonoptional condition to magazine subscriptions. Subscribers often did not even realize that they had to affirmatively cancel their subscriptions to avoid renewal. This was confusing to unwitting subscribers wishing to discontinue receipt of magazines once their subscription terms had ended.
Automatic renewal systems suffered yet other problems and limitations, including the limitation that only very limited selections of magazines could be sold on such a basis. Since automatic renewal was practiced by a publisher, choices were limited to those titles available from the publisher. Further, the nature of the transaction often required the buyer to commit to undetermined, future price increases to be determine unilaterally by the publisher.
Yet other systems required buyers to prepay for multi-year subscriptions. As with the automatic renewal systems noted above, such pre-paid systems provided the buyers little flexibility in payment and cancellation options, and small selections of magazines.
Thus, both traditional and automatic subscription renewal systems give rise to unsatisfactory shortcomings and complications that discourage consumers from wanting to subscribe to magazines.